Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Results of my poll
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Double Entry Journal #1
The New York Times
The Opinion Pages:
"Education Needs a Digital Upgrade"
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
"Change is inevitable; change is constant." - anonymous It is obvious that the world we live in is continuously changing and inevitably will never cease succumbing to that fate. However, this basic fact is often ignored...purposely. With this being said I have such a difficult time understanding why the world has such a hard time grasping on to this idea; this idea that is so natural. Maybe it reflects the ignorant mentality of Societal America and further elaborates on the fact that most Americans would rather choose traditional comfort over improvement followed by advancement.
In a recent article, published in the opinion pages of The New York Times, Ms. Davidson (a current educator) expounds on the fact that the modern education system fails in incorporating different technologies into the classroom as well as completely discouraging the use of different materials other than the "old school" pen and paper. The author of the article relays Davidson's message that "we can't keep preparing students for a world that doesn't exist...and above all, we must stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don't happen to possess it." And so, the basis of the problem is properly identified. What it boils down to is the fact that current educators are incredibly intimidated by, not necessarily advancement, but not having the needed information. Teachers are afraid of losing their upper hand. They have been chosen as a select few to have the responsibility of furthering the knowledge of all the coming generations, and when students are more knowledgeable in certain areas, teachers may have the feeling of incompetence or worthlessness. It isn't necessarily a power struggle but a legitimate fear of job security and lack of knowledge. But I think it is safe to say that teachers learn as much from their students as the students learn from the teachers, anyway.
Again, times are changing and new technologies are developing quicker than people can learn to use them. Not to mention that modern students are learning differently. They have always been a part of the 21st century and in saying that have always been exposed to the technological age. If progression is to be made in anyway, new materials are going to have to be properly introduced at an early age, and the issue of teacher incompetence should not limit what is used and how it is used. Technology, as strange as this may sound, has become a natural thing. So naturally, it should be introduced and put into practice effectively.
(http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=497&tbm=isch&tbnid=nB6_SfYwwNUUsM:&imgrefurl=http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com/tag/e-learning/&imgurl=http://lonewolflibrarian.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/cartoon.jpg&w=400&h=286&ei=jNg6UK2iJoTt0gG_yYHoBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=94&vpy=154&dur=56&hovh=190&hovw=266&tx=162&ty=96&sig=112890257968525836473&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=174&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:73)
The Opinion Pages:
"Education Needs a Digital Upgrade"
By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
"Change is inevitable; change is constant." - anonymous It is obvious that the world we live in is continuously changing and inevitably will never cease succumbing to that fate. However, this basic fact is often ignored...purposely. With this being said I have such a difficult time understanding why the world has such a hard time grasping on to this idea; this idea that is so natural. Maybe it reflects the ignorant mentality of Societal America and further elaborates on the fact that most Americans would rather choose traditional comfort over improvement followed by advancement.
In a recent article, published in the opinion pages of The New York Times, Ms. Davidson (a current educator) expounds on the fact that the modern education system fails in incorporating different technologies into the classroom as well as completely discouraging the use of different materials other than the "old school" pen and paper. The author of the article relays Davidson's message that "we can't keep preparing students for a world that doesn't exist...and above all, we must stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don't happen to possess it." And so, the basis of the problem is properly identified. What it boils down to is the fact that current educators are incredibly intimidated by, not necessarily advancement, but not having the needed information. Teachers are afraid of losing their upper hand. They have been chosen as a select few to have the responsibility of furthering the knowledge of all the coming generations, and when students are more knowledgeable in certain areas, teachers may have the feeling of incompetence or worthlessness. It isn't necessarily a power struggle but a legitimate fear of job security and lack of knowledge. But I think it is safe to say that teachers learn as much from their students as the students learn from the teachers, anyway.
Again, times are changing and new technologies are developing quicker than people can learn to use them. Not to mention that modern students are learning differently. They have always been a part of the 21st century and in saying that have always been exposed to the technological age. If progression is to be made in anyway, new materials are going to have to be properly introduced at an early age, and the issue of teacher incompetence should not limit what is used and how it is used. Technology, as strange as this may sound, has become a natural thing. So naturally, it should be introduced and put into practice effectively.
(http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=497&tbm=isch&tbnid=nB6_SfYwwNUUsM:&imgrefurl=http://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com/tag/e-learning/&imgurl=http://lonewolflibrarian.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/cartoon.jpg&w=400&h=286&ei=jNg6UK2iJoTt0gG_yYHoBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=94&vpy=154&dur=56&hovh=190&hovw=266&tx=162&ty=96&sig=112890257968525836473&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=124&tbnw=174&start=0&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:73)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)